Early in the second half, AZ seemed to decide the game. Vangelis Pavlidis shot flawlessly, although NEC thought he was offside for that. The VAR checked the goal and ruled that that was not the case. For the Greek this meant goal 27 in the Premier League. He is once again equal in the top scorer rankings with PSV player Luuk de Jong.
It took until the final phase before NEC showed itself offensively. A marker from Mees Hoedemakers was just tapped over the goal by Ryan. The Australian had to save again in the final phase on a free kick from Chery. The Nijmegen team could not go further than that, despite the six (!) minutes of injury time. It even became 0-3 via substitute Ernest Poku.
With the three-pointer, AZ keeps the pressure on FC Twente and third place. The difference is five points in the run-up to next week’s confrontation on Liberation Day (May 5). The kick-off is at 4.45 pm in Alkmaar and you can of course follow that match live on NH Sport on the radio.
AZ setup: Ryan; Sugawara, Penetra, Bazoer, M. De Wit (Miller Wolfe/90); Mijnans, D. With, Belic (Dantas/75); Sadiq (Poku/90), Pavlidis, Van Bommel (Van Brederode/81)
